HISTORICAL TIMELINE
St. Paul University Philippines - one of 42 schools owned, managed, and operated by the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres in the Philippines was founded in 1907.
On May 7, 1907, six sisters of the St. Paul of Chartres Congregation: Mother Ephrem Marie Fieu, Sr. Suzanne du Sacre Coeur Cran, Sr. Agnes de Sainte Anne Couplan, and Sr. Jeanne de St. Louis Bourrelly (all French), Sr. Marie Angeline Acau and Sr. Ste. Foy de Sacre Coeur Sacramento (a postulant) arrived at the request of Monsignor Denis Dougherty, the Bishop of Nueva Segovia to establish a Catholic School.
From Manila, the Sisters traveled by boat along the western coast of Luzon, passed by Vigan and proceeded to Aparri. They transferred to barge, known as barangay and sailed along the Cagayan River until they finally reached Tuguegarao. On May 10, 1907 a group led by Bishop Denis Dougherty, Father Estanislao Mendoza, a Dominican and parish priest of Tuguegarao, and distinguished members of the town welcomed the sisters. With the church bells ringing, the sisters were led to the church for the "Te Deum".
Barely a month after the arrival of the Sisters of St. Paul, enrolment started on June 1, 1907 at the COLEGIO DE SAN PABLO (PAROCHIAL SCHOOL) located at the old convent near the St. Peter's Cathedralthen still later as SACRED HEART ACADEMY.
The College department started in 1947 with a two-year ETC (Elementary Teacher’s Certificate) Course. After producing its first batch of college graduates, the school became ST. PAUL COLLEGE OF TUGUEGARAO in 1949.
The school was granted university status by the Philippine government in 1982. With a steady progress through the years, the university provided new facilities and opened additional courses in response to the needs of the region, country, and the world.
St. Paul University Philippines earned its niche among the global centers of learning: the first Catholic university in Asia and the first private university in the Philippines to be ISO 9001 certified. In 2002, the university was granted Full Autonomy Status by the Philippine Commision on Higher Education (CHED).
Today, SPUP GRADUATES are found serving in various professions, occupying responsible positions in government, non–government organizations, private business, corporations, in the Church, in different parts of the country and in the world.
As the premier educational institution, SPUP shall continue to lead and channel its initiatives, to harness its creativity and its energy to the discovery and forging of new and better ways of education to help make this world a better place.